


Different After All

by missmagic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alteans are weird to Humans, Humans are weird to Alteans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-07-25 11:12:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7530445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmagic/pseuds/missmagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Humans and Alteans may look similar but they are more different, biologically and culturally, than they first thought.</p><p>*One-shots about what makes Humans different to Alteans.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweating

**Author's Note:**

> First difference is sweating. Came up with this while I was out and dying cause its too god damn warm and I'm sweating my arse off.

Allura wasn't a fan of heat. She didn't like how it dried out her skin and how uncomfortable it could be to something as simple as breathing. Mostly, she hated sweating. It was horrible and filthy. Hated how it felt like her sweat was pooling in her palms and in the cracks in her skin and between her fingers, making her feet feel weird and toes slimy. Back on Altea it was considered more than rude to be even near someone while sweating. If it was up to her she would gladly never sweat again. However, the planet that they were on didn't agree with her wishes.

Its almost cruel sun bearing down on her, its rays oppressive on her skin. The heat. Oh, the heat. It was merciless. It burned and nipped. Altea was never like this. Altea wasn't a very wet planet, it was actually quiet dry compared to other planets but there was always enough moisture in the air for the heat to be more than bearable. This planet was just cruel with its temperature and it seemed that Coran agreed with her. That made her think of the Paladins with a hint of worry. Lance had told her of Earth's water and that the planet was around 70% water. 70%. A part of her didn't understand how a planet with so much water would create a land creature such as Humans. Earth was far, far wetter that Altea and she, an Altean was suffering from the heat so she didn't want to see the state that the Paladins were in.

When the princess finally found them she didn't understand. She expected to find them under some shade dying from the heat, slowly crawling back to the coolness of the castle. Instead, they were in direct sunlight. Pidge and Hunk were chatting away as if it wasn't warm at all and Lance was lying down, soaking up the sunlight as if he was a cold-blooded lizard. Then there was the most surprising to her, Shiro and Keith play sparring with each other. Why weren't they in the shade and not doing anything to exert themselves. It made no sense. As she got closer to the Red and Black Paladin, she noticed that they seemed to be wet. It both made her envy them and confused. Where did they get the water to throw over themselves? Allura could now clearly see beads of water trailing down Shiro's face, in fact, she could now see that all the Paladins has a shin to their skin which only being wet could create.

"Where did you get the water?" The two stopped with their play to look at her but they looked confused.

"What water?" She tilted her head at their question as she watched Keith look around for the water that she had asked about.

"The water that all of you obviously poured over yourselves." Annoyance graced her face, Allura thought that the Humans were playing dumb with her when in truth, they genuinely had no idea what she was talking about.

"We didn't." Pidge spoke from the sideline. "I would have though if I had any water on me." They said as they imagined themselves floating in a nice and cool pool. Now, Allura was really confused. 

"If you didn't pour anything over yourselves then, why are you all wet?" She was answered with silence. The Paladins all giving each other looks showing their lack of understanding.

"Wait." Everyone looked at Lance who looked as if he had the answer to life itself. "Are you talking about our sweat?" A few raised their eyebrows at him, why wouldn't she be able to see that they were covered in sweat, it must be something else. Allura was taken back. Was it sweat, no it couldn't be. They are covered in it. What kind of species sweats from the entire body.

"No it couldn't be, sorry Lance. You wouldn't be covered in it as you are."

"Yes, we would." They stared at her. All of them with faces of confusion, what did Allura mean they wouldn't be covered in sweat. Maybe Lance was right.

"No you wouldn't." She was starting to get really annoyed now. "You only sweat from a certain part of the body." The Altean said with such confidence. Every species that she'd ever met either sweated from their hands and feet or instead of sweating, they panted to cool themselves down. However, she'd forgotten that those species where from the same galaxy as her and that Humanity was practically from the other side of the Universe. Galaxies and Galaxies away with no relation to any of the species that she was familiar with. Her confidence started to slip when she noticed the looks that they were giving her.

"Allura, hope you don't mind me asking but where do Altean's sweat from?" Pidge asked with genuine curiosity.

"Alteans sweat from the palms of their hands and feet." She had to stop herself from shivering in disgust as she remembered how disgusting the sweat was making her hands feel.

"Really, so.. you're like cats." Keith's only answer to that was a confused look from the Altean princess.

"Ehh, I guess." She had no clue. "Where are your sweat glands if they aren't..?"

"Mainly armpits, chest, face and head but I guess that we can kind of sweat from anywhere." It didn't click, something about this new information stopped her from wrapping her head around it. Though, it started to make sense when she remembered that Earth was mainly water, the life it supported could afford to be wasteful of water but then how are they feeling better in this heat than her?. Instead of dwelling on it though, Allura just shook her head and walked over to a little bit of shade that wasn't too far away. Humans made no sense.


	2. Clonandu Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humans can eat anything and everything. Allura finds this out when the food goo machine isn't working.

His stomach growled and ached. Shiro now wished that he'd eaten yesterday before the food goo machine broke. He couldn't help not eating, ever since his time as a Galra prisoner his appetite has been messed up. Though, the Black Paladin didn't mind waiting a few more days for Coran to be finished fixing it, he'd went longer without eating. It was the other's that he was more worried for, they've never had to starve for weeks 'til they turn into months. He shook his head, he wasn't a prisoner anymore, there was no reason for them to go that long. Shiro turned his attention to what was around him.

Gorgeous red and purple trees towered over him with their golden leaves creating a canopy above him, now and then a few leaves would gracefully dance from their branch to the ground. He tried to avoid crushing the many different kinds of flowers as he walked. There wasn't a single flower that looked like another. They were all different and unique, all different shades of red and pink which created a harmony with the purple grass.

"Shiro. There you are." Allura's voice stole him from the scenery. He turned to face her, watching her approach. "The other Paladins are helping Coran with the Food Despenser so I'd like you to help me."

"Sure." He nodded, more than happy to help the princess. "With what?"

"There is a city of sorts not that far away and where there is a city, there is plenty of places to buy something to eat. We just need to get a few things for us before the dispenser is fixed." With that, the Altean princess started walking and Shiro followed. Usually they would have taken a speeder or something but it was a lovely day for a walk. You'd think that a planet with two suns would be a lot warmer but these stars were only small orange suns, combined they created nearly as much heat as Earth's sun. Shiro had no idea how long they'd been walking for when he spotted a large oak like tree with purple-pink fruits hiding in its gold leaves. There was something familiar about them.

"Allura, are those edible?" He was greeted with a confused look before she noticed the fruits that he was pointing to and her eyes widened. Allura was surprised to see a Clonandu Tree, they weren't native to this planet. They were possibly one of the most toxic fruits out there. She'd never known a species to be able to eat them, not even the native's from the fruits homeworld could survive them. Not even Alteans. Alteans were well known for being one of the most adaptable species that could eat many things others couldn't and yet the Clonandu still didn't agree with their systems. If her people couldn't handle a Clonandu then she couldn't see a Human being able to. Alteans were much more designed for those kind of toxins and with their chameleon like abilities she saw no way that a Human could happily consume a Clonandu.

Shiro was having very different thoughts. The longer he looked at the alien fruit, the more he started to recognise it. He remembers coming across it during his time with the Galra, apparently it wasn't a well liked fruit. What was it called? Clo-something. The Druids were very curious about his species, they wondered at how much a human could take. So one day they decided to force feed him one of those, expecting him suffer at how toxic the fruit was only to find Shiro enjoying the sweetness of the fruit. It tasted something similar to a strawberry. Slowly he made his way over to the tree and picked one of the fruits. The skin was soft and kinda fuzzy feeling. Taking a bite he was greeted with the same sweetness. He wasn't going to lie, it tasted much better than the Castle's food goo. Shiro couldn't stop a slight moan at how good the fruit tasted.

The princess watched in amazement at Shiro enjoying the Clonandu. There was no reaction. He didn't start foaming out the mouth. He didn't start to have a heart attack and he didn't just simply keel over dead. Never had a species even survived the first bite of the fruit and Shiro was finished. "S-Shiro, why did you eat that?!" Shiro wiped his mouth from the juice and looked at her. The fruit sitting comfortably in his previously empty stomach.

"Because I was hungry."

"But... It's toxic!"

"It is?" Allura just looked more shocked by his answer. That would explain why the Druids were amazed with him eating four of these before running test after test on him, looking at the results in shock and awe before sending him back to his cell. "I guess it isn't to Humans then." She had to conceal a gasp when Shiro just shrugged at finding out that a fruit he just eat was toxic. However, she had to get over her shock because Shiro was starting to walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter.


	3. 'Tis But A Scratch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alteans are little pussies

Coran was in a panic. He might be known for being wacky and a bit silly but that didn't cancel out the fact that he was a battle-scarred soldier of war, he'd seen his fair share of stuff. He had seen what battles could do to someone and the injuries that it gave them. A lot of Alteans were injured during the war, some he'd known personally. A lot of good soldiers lost from limb loss to infection. It was difficult fighting an enemy with a better healing factor than you. So, they built the Healing Pod.

The Healing Pods looked and sounded peaceful, full of good intentions in bringing good health and a speedy recovery to everyone but in reality, it was built simply to get soldiers back from the brink of death and back on to the front lines as quickly as possible. He and his fellow soldiers had praised the gods for the invention. Coran especially after his close account with death. He remembers it like it was yesterday. It was a gruesome battle. The Altean Fleet was starting to gain the upper hand, victory within their grasp. Defeated spirits soured before they crashed and burned as Glara reinforcement arrived. It was a massacre. They were in full retreat as Coran made it safely into a ship but, just before the door closed, a Galra warrior charged at him and managed to get a good swipe at his side. The warrior pulled back his arm before the door closed on it and the ship was gone. Coran, was lying on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

The gash in his side wasn't deep but it did the job. His body went into shock and already had he lost too much blood. It was terrifying. Watching as darkness creeped into his sight from the corners of his eyes. Feeling his body go numb whilst it screamed in pain. Hearing nothing but his own heartbeat.

Thankfully, they were on the newest model of ship. All of which were included with Healing Pods. Another soldier helped him to them in the nick of time. It worked and he lived, though, he was still left with a scar.

Suddenly, he remembered why he was in a panic. As usual, he was watching the Paladins training. They were sparring with each other, taking turns. Lance and Shiro were up. It started out fine. Lance showed to be better at sparring than the others thought but he was up against Shiro. There was a reason that he was Champion, not that he would be like that with Lance. The Black Paladin didn't mean it, his mind had been swept away with the fight and his muscle memory kicked in. Lance had managed to get behind him and to the right a bit and Shiro panicked. Not able to stop himself, his arm started to glow and his hand made contact with Lances arm. It hadn't taken it off, just grazed, leaving a tear in skin and muscle. Lance gave a startled and pained cry, his eyes starting to water as he held his left arm. 

"oH OH ohhh, shit! That stings!" Lance shouted as he jumped about on the balls of his feet. Only stopping when he saw Shiro's face. "Hey it's okay, no biggie. See just a scratch." A scratch that really hurt like a bitch but at the end of the day he'd live, his injury wasn't even that bad. The pain was already numbing to a dull ache with a sharp sting when he moved his arm. The Humans started to calm down when they saw that it wasn't that bad, minus Shiro who was in alarm and spurting out apologies at the speed of light.

Coran on the other hand, was in full panic.

"LANCE!" Everyone jumped at the Alteans scream. "Get him to the Healing Pods, NOW!" His eyes were wide with panic, fear screamed in his veins as he looked over the Paladins condition. He noticed their startled faces. Good, they should be! Lance could die if he didn't get to the Pods. "HURRY!" They couldn't lose their Blue Paladin.

"Wah, why?" Lance was very confused. Why was Coran acting like he was going to die? It was just a scratch, literally.

"Why?! WHY?!" Why weren't they panicking like him? Did they not care if their friend died! Humans now seemed colder than he originally thought. Lance wouldn't last long. Though, he was surprised that Lance hadn't collapsed due to blood loss already or blacked out from shock or from the unimaginable pain the he was probably in.

"Woah Coran, chill. It's fine see look." Showing off the wound to Coran, moving cloth out of the way. The other Paladins were surprised with how little blood there was, proving that Shiro had done very little damage. In fact, the bleeding seemed to have already started slowing down. To say that Coran was amazed was an understatement, under his awe, he wouldn't admit that he was also a bit weirded out by the fact that Humans bled red.

The Alteans mouth was wide so was his eyes. Amazed. "I need a sample." A cry of confusion was heard from all of the Humans.

 

*******

 

It was an hour later and Coran's mind was reeling. He had taken a sample from the edge of Lance's injury and watched. It was amazing. Cells stitching themselves back together at what seemed to Coran the speed of light. Never had an Altean healed this fast. Heck, even with the Healing Pods did they heal like this.

Allura was in a similar state. Staring in amazement at Lance's arm which was already scabbed over. "My god." Pidge looked at the princess.

"What's the big deal? It's just a cut." They sighed. They'd bled worse on their time of the month. Allura couldn't shake the shock.

"It's amazing. Your people's ability to heal. Do you all heal like this?" Coran looked up, eager for the answer. Both Alteans gleamed when the Humans nodded. "Truly amazing. We were never gifted with such an incredibly healing factor, in fact, I don't even think the Galra heal this fast." It was a terrifying thought to Coran. If the Galra were a force with their warriors ability to heal quickly, what would Humans be like? He started to think about Earth. He wondered what the planet would be like for one of its creations to have such an evolutionary advantage. How deadly. In all of Altea's history, they didn't have very much big predators. The biggest the planet had been the Kylila which only came up to his thigh and eat mostly mice, it would never think about attacking one of them. Without any predators and the planet being mostly flat land, there was no reason for them to evolve such an ability to heal. What kind of predators did Humanity's ancestors have to worry about being injured by?

His eyes slowly shifted their attention to Shiro's arm or more likely, his missing organic arm. Before the Healing Pods, they would simple die when losing a limb, even with them there was still a high risk but then Shiro. He'd lost an arm, lived, probably experimented on whilst they attached his robotic replacement, lived, continued to fight in the arena and lived. A steady trickle of fear he felt in his gut. He heard from Allura not long ago about the Clonandu and how Humans could not only survive it, but enjoy the death fruit. He wouldn't lie by saying that Humanity as a species intimidated him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter.


	4. Language is hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Humans and Alteans find out what each other sound like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the idea that compared to aliens, we actually have a really intense voice.  
>  **This is what Altean looks like**

It bugged Pidge. They couldn't wrap their mind around it. Back on Earth, if you jumped to another country then it'd be different but apparently in space the universe said fuck that. They just couldn't understand how every species they'd come across could speak English. Seriously, on Earth you couldn't go anywhere without hearing languages upon languages. Then they find aliens and they speak perfect English, better than their cousin from Germany that visited them sometimes. It just didn't make any sence. At first Pidge dismissed it but then during training Lance had whispered in Spanish under his breath and Coran understood it. 

Training had just ended and everyone was still lounging about. The green paladin sat in agitated silence before they noticed Allura. Enough was enough. They wanted answers. "Hey, Allura." The princess turned to them, a small smile lacing her lips.

"Yes Pidge."

"Why can I understand you?" That definitely startled Allura. Everyone else looked up in slight surprise. "How do you know English?"

"Eng-lish..." Allura felt the foreign word roll off her tongue. What was an English? After a few seconds however, Pidge's question seemed to come clear to her. "Oh, that's your species language. Well that's easy, I don't know it." Now everyone was stumped.

"How can you and Coran speak it if you don't know it." Hunk peered up from his seat as his eyes scanned the room at the others.

"Eh, I'm sorry but I don't really know how it works. Coran is better at explaining it than I." Slowly, the paladins shifted their attention to the ginger who stared wide-eyed. They waited.

"Ah well. It's the castle you see." The castle? "A marvelous piece of technology. Even back in Altea's Golden Age it was a feat in science and diplomacy. You don't understand how hard it is to speak to other species in diplomatic meetings when there is a language barrier in the way. So, the great minds of the time built a special system into the ship. It can translate for you." A ship that translates for you. The Humans almost thought that Coran was pulling their leg but they knew not to underestimate the technological feats that the Altean's were capable of. "It changes your voice into something that the other can understand, quite impressive if I say so. So to you, it sounds like we are talking.. Eng-lish.. and to me and Allura you are all speaking Altean." Impressive, yes. Did it explain everything, no.

"Then how does the castle understand English?" Coran opened his mouth to speak before he realised that he didn't have an answer.

"I'll admit I'm not a specialist in this matter." Everyone was silent. Suddenly, all the paladins felt a buzz in the back of their minds. The Lions.

"Could the Lions be helping...?"

"...It is possible...." Coran mumbled to himself rather than everyone else as he held his chin. "Nobody really knows what the Lions are capable of." Pidge felt their bond with the Green Lion buzzing with energy. The Blue Lion couldn't stay quiet for any longer and whispered to Lance who agreed.

"Is there a way for us to hear each other normally?" He questioned. "Like, you hear what English really sounds like and we hear what you sound like." The Lions seemed to giggle to themselves. Nothing changed though. The paladins still felt the same and the Altean's hadn't reacted to anything. They thought that everything was normal until the princess opened her mouth.

**"I don't know Lance. Coran and I don't really understand the language system in place and how it works."** The Humans stared in shock. They didn't understand a word that Allura had spoken, though, it didn't sound like words to them. Allura made sounds like trills and beeps and purrs, nothing that resembled English. However. The trills she made sounded.. bland. Her voice suddenly sounded very monotone and emotionless, borderline quiet. They thought that she was whispering almost. The Altean's noticed their shock. **"What's wrong?"**

"Ehh, you're not speaking English anymore." Lance practically squealed though he would deny it. Panic shot through them when they saw the two gasp in pain as they clutched their ears.

"Allura, Coran. What's wrong?" The gentleness in Shiro's voice seemed to calm them as the ringing in their ears eased. After a while, Allura made a movement for Shiro to speak. The man was really confused. "Em.. I'm guessing that whatever the Lions did it answered the question on how we understand each other." He missed the way that the two gazed at him.

"Yeah, I guess it does." Hunk nervously spoke, worried for why the Altean's had held their heads in pain at the sound of Lance's voice. Not that Pidge would blame them.

Allura was amazed. She was surprised to hear the intensity of Lance's voice which sounded more like him screaming as loud as he could right into her ears. surprised with the gentle lull but strength in Shiro's. The colours. Before, Allura had only seen colours but now, she'd heard them. It was amazing that in only a few sentences, she'd heard so much tone and emotion and colour in a handful of words. Sure she had met species who also had strong vocal cords but Humans were definitely the strongest that she'd heard. The different pitches that she's heard in _one_ word alone spoke wonders to her. Human tongue sounded similar to creatures who sang instead of spoke. It was amazing. Though, only when they weren't speaking in anything higher than quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter.


	5. Just Breathe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm sorry that I've not updated this in months. Tbh I'm not that proud of this chapter but it's the best I can do right now. Hope you enjoy.

For as amazing and wonderful as the castle is, it was still just a ship.  They were still restricted to its walls and to what it could carry inside.  Even breathable air.  Until they landed on a planet with the right air and opened up that castle, it was the same air.  After a while, it stales.  Waste gas piles up until there's more of it than breathable air.  The castle becomes stuffy and uncomfortable, it gets harder to concentrate.   

Thankfully, the castle has a built in system to help with this.  When this starts to happen, the ventilation takes in the air of the ship and filters it, letting the breathable air around the place while sealing away the waste.  Until they land and its released on to that planet and more air is brought on.  It's a good system.  It keeps them alive. 

However, the periods before and straight after the Filtration Period caused Allura nothing but a headache.  With the waste gas, her head pounds and it starts to get harder to catch her breath.  It wasn't a good way to spend your day.  The Filtration Period happens during sleep which she finds wonderful.  For the first time in a while, the princess will wake up to full lungs and no headache.  Then it would come back when the Paladins entered. 

They entered the kitchen as if they were half dead.  They did this every time after the Filter had done its job.  It was starting to annoy her if she was honest.  Even Shiro acted the way they did.  He didn't stand as tall or his neck as straight.  Instead the Black Paladin was slouched over and looked as if he just wanted to sleep the day away.  Maybe they'd feel better when they get to the upcoming planet.  She was just back from the controls, the ship telling her that there was somewhere to land in a few.  It was a small planet that looked to be mostly water, tiny pockets of land scattered about.  A place to rest.  Maybe it would be good. 

"Hey!  Stop elbowing me!" 

"I'm not elbowing you!" 

Yes.  Getting them off the castle for a bit would be good. 

 

—  

 

They had decided to take the Lions down with them.  Lance didn't know about the others but he loved just flying with Blue.  No Galra or saving anyone.  Just flying about having fun.  He felt Blue purr in the back of his head, agreeing with him.  She loved flying with her Paladin.  There was a buzz of energy that tingled between their bond, the need to dive into the water and explore the deep.  They landed on a beach, her impact sending sand flying into her joints.  That was going to be a bitch to clean out.  Blue didn't like the feeling of the grains in her cracks, using this as an excuse to suggest jumping into that ocean in front of her, Lance just cracked a smile at her.  "Maybe when we go back to the castle, sorry girl" he said giving the chair a soft pat.  A small pop up flashed on the screen.  He leaned in confused before reading it.  "Hey, the airs breathable."   

The other Lions were landing as he walked out of his, blue eyes scanning the horizon.  It was pretty but it didn't beat home.  The sand wasn't right and the ocean wasn't as blue or as clear.  He ignored the stinging in his chest.  Instead of thinking on it, he took off his helmet and breathed in.  The gentle breeze dancing in his hair. 

It was magical.  He felt better than he had all day.  There was that pleasurable burn in his lungs that only came with breathing in too much.  The ache in his temple cleared up and he straightened his back.  When did breathing become so good? 

There was strange periods in the castle.  At first it was all good but as a while past it got easier and easier to breath, until a tiny breath in felt like a full pair of lungs.  Then suddenly, they'd wake up and they couldn't breathe at all.  It was terrifying the first time.  He thought he was suffocating until he realised that he could breathe, it was just difficult.  Then once again, it started to get easier and easier with time until they were back in that oxygen high.  Then they'd wake up unable to breathe and the cycled continued. 

To be honest, he had wanted to bring it up to someone but the teen kept on forgetting to.  Lance was taken from his thoughts as he zoned in on the discussions behind him, turning round, he joined his fellow Paladins. 

The castle was quiet aside from the mice that chittered in her ears.  Calmly watching the screens that showed the Paladins on the beach, all enjoying themselves with their helmets off.  Wait...  Their helmets were off.  Allura jumped to the readings which showed the list of gases in the atmosphere. 

"Paladins!  What are you doing?!  Get your helmets back on, NOW!"  Her eyes were wide with fear for them.  Why were they just looking at their comms in confusion?  As if she suddenly had the head of a Yamok. 

"Eh... princess, what's wrong?"  Confusion laced Pidges words. 

"The air isn't breathable!  What did you take your masks off for?!"  They just looked at each other.  Each and everyone of them had checked the readings before taking them off, they said that it was safe.  Hunk had even went through them a couple of times before giving them the go ahead. 

"..Yeah it is.." 

"No it's not.  There is high levels of oxygen in the air.  Get back to the ship now."  Now they were more than confused. 

"Em, shouldn't there be?" 

"Of course not.  Oxygen isn't breathable."  Shiro sighed.  Looks like they'd have to break it to her before she has a heart attack.  Can Alteans get heart attacks? 

"Princess, what do Alteans breath?"   

"Carbon Dioxide like any other species, now, get back to the ship." 

"Wait, like plants???"  Lance was ignored as everyone went back to their Lions, better explaining it to her in person. 

 

—  

 

They all met up in the Red Lions hanger.  Waiting as Allura stormed up to them.  "What the quiznak was that about?!"  They let her rant on at them for a bit.  She obviously needed to let some steam off and also they were a bit to scared to interrupt her.  Looks like Shiro was the only one to have a pair. 

"Princess.  Humans breath oxygen."  That stopped her. 

"What?"  Her head tilted to the side a bit in her confusion, her mouth opened a bit.  "I don't understand." 

"Humans breath oxygen, not Carbon Dioxide.  All animals on Earth do in fact, aside from plants."  Pidge shrugged as she pushed up their glasses. 

"..on Earth.."  It didn't seem to compute in her head.  In all of her years, she'd never heard of a species, never mind a whole planet, be able to breathe oxygen.  It was a corrosive waste gas.  

"Well, we didn't use to.  In Earth's history, there was this event called the Great Oxygenation event, it happened a couple billion of years ago.  These bacteria on the planet started producing a shit-ton of oxygen and it changed the whole planets atmosphere.  Killing nearly everything that didn’t evolve to breath it off.  Well, that's what I think happened.  I read about it ages ago."  Even the Paladins stared at Lance in shock.  He noticed their surprised stares and glared.  "Yeah I know things, suck it up." 

"...that explains why we struggle to breathe when Coran and Allura are completely fine.  We breathe different things.." 

"What happened?"  Coran finally appearing in the hanger.  His eyes darting between everyone.  Allura didn't turn to him. 

"Human's breathe oxygen."  All that got in response was Coran's blank stare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter. I'd like to know your thoughts on this so far.


	6. Jewellery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro is beautiful. Coran is shook.

Coran stood on the bridge, eyes lazily scanning the map of the stars that floated around him.  The Altean wasn't doing this for any reason, he just found watching the far-away constellations strangely comforting.  The soft glow eased over him.  It was the quiet hiss from the doors opening that caused him to turn around.  "Ah, Number 1!", he watched the Black Paladin walk over to him. 

"Hey Coran, have you seen the others?"  The Human looked about to see if they were hiding in here.   

"No, sorry.  I've not seen them."  A sigh came from his mouth, not stopping until he was in front of Coran.  Turning his head, he looked up at the stars.  He didn't see any familiar constellations.  Shiro opened his mouth to speak but Coran was concentrated on something else.  "Never noticed that before..."  That caught the Humans attention.  Grey eyes widened at him, they whispered a question.  "You have a scar on your nose."  Shiro's expression drastically changed.  The look of 'duh' and a sarcastic 'no way' was written all over his face. 

"I hadn't noticed."  Coran realized how silly that was to say and quickly corrected himself. 

"No, you have a second one."  His hand came up and pressed a finger just above the Paladins right nostril.  "Here."  Confusion curled in Coran's head.  It was a very small scar.  Tiny.  He had no idea what could have cause something like it.  It was also a perfect circle.  Strange.  To say that Shiro was confused would be an understatement, it wasn't until he used his left hand to feel the small scar that he realized what it was. 

"Oh I forgot about that.  Nothing to worry about, it's just my old piercing."  Shiro missed his old nose ring.  It wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear whilst wearing a helmet so he had to leave it back on the Kerberos ship.  The hole had completely healed over during his time with the Galra.  He'd took out his ear piercings before they left Earth, they had long since closed over.   

"If you don't mind me asking, what's a piercing?"   

"Eh..."  How does one explain piercings?  "It's... a kind of jewellery."  He couldn't help the small shrug.  Understanding washed over Coran's face. 

"So it's like a Tanfa."  It wasn't a question.  "What colour was it?"  The Altean was genuinely curious.  Though, he didn't understand why it left a scar.  Maybe he took an Allergic reaction to it?  Do Human's even have Allergies? 

"...Black." 

"A good choice."  Coran nodded, gently smiling because the Black Paladin use to have a black Tanfa before he even became a Paladin.  "I use to have a few myself, not black but they were more of a turquoise."  A fond look danced behind his eyes.  He missed his Tanfa's, they would still be on his ears if he hadn't lost them.   Though, he still to this day believes that Gartha stole and hid them from him.  Sneaky bastard.  However, a question started to whisper to him.  "Why do you call them piercings?  Sounds a bit gruesome if you ask me." 

"Cause they pierce you."  The 'duh' look returned to Shiro's face.  Coran's eyes widened. 

"Why do they pierce you?!"  Shock welled up in the Altean.   

"So that they stay in...  I'm guessing that your, Tanfa, don't work like that."  He watched as Coran slowly shook his head.  "How do you wear them then?" 

"By sticking them were you want them.  They're kind of like magnets, that's why they were usually only done on the ears."  The horror in Coran's eyes make Shiro feel uneasy.  "So... You Humans... You, what.  How do you get them done?"  He almost didn't want to know. 

"You go to a professional place to get them, well, I did.  Don't know about everyone else.  They stick a sterile needle into were you want pierced and then once there's a hole, they put in the piece of Jewellery of your choice.  Wait a bit for it to heal and there you go."  Coran felt like being sick. 

"So, you willingly let yourself be mutilated for looks.."  His guts felt like they were tangling themselves into knots when Shiro nodded.  "This is a normal thing?!" 

"Yeah.  I actually wanted my septum done for a long time.  I was going to wait until after Kerberos but well, we all know how that turned out."  He could taste sick in the back of this throat when Shiro felt the hard bit between his nostrils.  "Should probably re-do my ears at some point."  Coran stilled.  He had more that one piercing?  That's when he noticed the holes on the Paladins ears.  Three on his right ear and two on the left.  Coran really thought that he was going to be sick now.  He also felt a bit of fear.  What kind of species willingly lets themselves be mutilated?  For something as ever changing as fashion.  Not even the Galra were that... barbaric.  He then remembered the Lance incident during training and how resilient the Human body was compared to Alteans.   

"Is it a youth culture thing?"  Staying strong and refusing to be sick, he was a bit curious.  Back on Altea, Tanfa had been a recent thing.  Seen as an act of rebellion by the older generations. 

"No.  Humans have been piercing each others for centuries.  For as far back as records go, we've always had piercings."  That almost shocked Coran more that the whole mutilation thing.  Piercings was something that had become so ingrained into Human culture that it had survived centuries and centuries of change.  The longest a fashion trend would last on Altea would be a few years at most.  They'd never had a thing that stayed with them as long as centuries, well, anything other than technology.  Coran shook his head and held up a finger, stopping Shiro from talking anymore. 

Humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter. I'd like to know your thoughts on this so far.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and feel welcome to suggest something for me to write about in another chapter.


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